Last week, prominent US think tankers including CSIS’ Dr Mira Rapp Hooper testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on the US role in the South China Sea. You can watch the testimonies or access full transcripts here. Of particular interest are the suggestions our American colleagues made on multilateral efforts like a ‘maritime coalition of the willing’ that would include Japan, Australia and India (see Patrick Cronin’s presentation).

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is a sprawling, crowded yet eclectic megacity. Forty-five years ago, things were more tranquil in the ‘big durian’ (the city’s nickname), as depicted in this short documentary—an atmosphere that regular visitors to the capital would never imagine (8mins).